Ten years for Cycle Challenge
8 September 2006
The streets of Johannesburg will be flooded with over 30 000 cyclists when the annual Pick 'n Pay 94.7 Cycle Challenge celebrates its tenth anniversary on Sunday, 19 November.
"We are thrilled to be hosting the tenth successful Pick 'n Pay Cycle Challenge," says 94.7 Highveld Stereo marketing manager, Dex de Bruin.
"It's truly amazing how the event has grown over the past 10 years. Because we're celebrating this milestone, we're calling on all cycling enthusiasts to participate in this year's event.
"Whether people have participated previously or never ridden the race before, it doesn't matter. We want them there to celebrate the special day with us," said De Bruin.
World-famous commentators
Such is the draw of the race that commentary will be provided by Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen, the familiar voices behind the biggest tour of them all, the Tour de France.
The first time the 94.7
Cycle Challenge was held, in 1997, it drew 4 500 cyclists, making it the biggest cycling event in Gauteng. Two years later, Pick 'n Pay came on board as the co-sponsors of the event.
By that time the race entry had nearly doubled in size, and with the supermarket giant in on the act, the entry cracked the 10 000-cyclist milestone.
Because of the massive surge in numbers, organizers approached
Johannesburg Disaster Management to assist with safety standards. This resulted in partial road closure in 2001. Today, the race's safety and excellent organisation are regularly recognized as being exemplary.
Children's Cycle Challenge
Allied to the main race is the Children's Cycle Challenge, which was sponsored by Spur Steak Ranches for the first time in 2005. It caters for children from the ages of three to six.
A new innovation in 2005 was the introduction of the Mountain Bike Race, consisting of either a 20-kilometre or a
40-kilometre route through Leeuwkop, Inanda Country Base and the surrounds of Kyalami. The event will again be held in 2006.
Preceding the main event, on Friday, 17 November, will be the Team Time Trial, featuring both professional men's and ladies' teams. It is a by-invitation-only race.
Road race of the year
The Pick 'n Pay 94.7 Cycle Challenge has twice been voted South Africa's road race of the year, including in 2005. It has also received recognition from the UCI, the International Governing Body of Cycling, as a model to the cycling world.
According to Liggett, known as 'The Voice of Cycling', it is the best organized cycling event in Africa.
As has become the norm, the 2006 race will feature full road closure, with the backing of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department, the Johannesburg Roads Agency, and the Gauteng Department of Public Transport.
The Cycle Challenge route remains the same as last year. It
starts in Woodmead, next to Megawatt Park, runs through Houghton Estate, over the Nelson Mandela Bridge in Braamfontein, up Jan Smuts Avenue, along Hans Strijdom Drive, through Diepsloot and finishes at the AA Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in Midrand.
To enter online, log onto Highveld Stereo before Monday, 2 October and stand a chance to win an all expenses paid for trip for two to the 2007 Tour de France courtesy of Hertz.
For more information on the race, contact the race office on 0862 947 947.
SouthAfrica.info reporter
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